GUWAHATI: An audit report has raised concerns regarding the financial state of State Public Sector Enterprises (SPSEs) in Assam.
As of March 31, 2022, there were 51 SPSEs within the audit jurisdiction of the Principal Accountant General (Audit), Assam, which represents the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the state. These SPSEs comprised 48 Government companies, three Statutory Corporations, and one State Regulatory Body, the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Out of the 51 SPSEs, only 9 (7 working and 2 non-working) had finalised their up-to-date accounts for 2021-22. Furthermore, 22 SPSEs (18 working and 4 non-working) had 57 accounts in arrears spanning one to five years, while the remaining 20 SPSEs (10 working and 10 non-working) had a total of 331 accounts in arrears for more than five years as of September 30, 2022. The Assam Government had invested ₹2,336.25 crore in 18 SPSEs during the years for which their accounts were in arrears.
Moreover, 4 out of 8 working Government companies required to spend on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities did not allocate any expenditure for such initiatives. There was an overall CSR spending shortfall of ₹5.31 crore in 5 working companies according to their latest finalised accounts. Additionally, there were lapses in governance, with 22 out of 31 working Government companies failing to hold the mandatory four meetings of the Board of Directors each year.